Senior Associate – Operations (Advisory) at PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC) Nigeria

PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC) Nigeria has been operating in Nigeria since 1953 through its predecessor firms of Coopers & Lybrand and Price Waterhouse. We’re one of the leading professional services firms in the country with offices in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, over 1000 staff and 31 resident partners.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Senior Associate – Operations (Advisory)

Location: Lagos
Job type: Full Time

Job Description & Summary

A career within Operations Consulting services, will provide you with the opportunity to help our clients optimise all elements of their operations to move beyond the role of a cost effective business enabler and become a source of competitive advantages. We focus on product innovation and development, supply chain, procurement and sourcing, manufacturing operations, service operations and capital asset programmes to drive both growth and profitability.
To really stand out and make us fit for the future in a constantly changing world, each and every one of us at PwC needs to be a purpose-led and values-driven leader at every level. To help us achieve this we have the PwC Professional; our global leadership development framework. It gives us a single set of expectations across our lines, geographies and career paths, and provides transparency on the skills we need as individuals to be successful and progress in our careers, now and in the future.
As a Senior Associate, you’ll work as part of a team of problem solvers, helping to solve complex business issues from strategy to execution.

PwC Professional skills and responsibilities for this management level include but are not limited to:

Use feedback and reflection to develop self awareness, personal strengths and address development areas.
Delegate to others to provide stretch opportunities, coaching them to deliver results.
Demonstrate critical thinking and the ability to bring order to unstructured problems.
Use a broad range of tools and techniques to extract insights from current industry or sector trends.
Review your work and that of others for quality, accuracy and relevance.
Know how and when to use tools available for a given situation and can explain the reasons for this choice.
Seek and embrace opportunities which give exposure to different situations, environments and perspectives.
Use straightforward communication, in a structured way, when influencing and connecting with others.
Able to read situations and modify behavior to build quality relationships.
Uphold the firm’s code of ethics and business conduct.

Project Delivery & Management

Business & Industry Analysis:

Keeps abreast of industry issues (e.g. regulation, drivers, threats etc.), understands their relevance to assigned projects and forms an opinion on target/client business.
Forms an opinion/point of view and articulates client’s issues/current state from available documentation e.g. strategy document, business plan, procedures manuals, organograms etc.
Data gathering and handling
Able to scope and execute primary research using all relevant research providers
Aware of key sources of data – where to find it, how to access it etc. – and able to identify/find new sources of data specific to a given project (incl. market sources and previous projects)
Aware of alternative methods for data gathering e.g. interviewing to verify/supplement published market research
Aware of all internal and external data sources and their limitations
Able to synthesize key messages and trends and their implications for the client from large volumes of data (client/external)
Sense-checks and validates research and work output with other data sources
Presents data accurately and completely – “Right first-time” approach
Demonstrates ability to conduct qualitative and quantitative analyses
Communicates effectively with team members – e.g. changes to hypotheses, data problems, new issues, timing
Financial analysis
Understands drivers of revenues and profitability
Understands key ratios – e.g. profitability margins
Able to perform basic analysis of financial statements, business plans etc. to understand key organisational drivers, trends, plans etc.
Excel skills
Can set up clear, easy to follow and fully sourced spreadsheets
Data manipulation using simple formulae and techniques – e.g. vlookups, pivot tables
Able to construct basic models
Process Analysis & Design skills
Able to perform critical analysis of processes to identify gaps, redundancies, automation requirements and other improvement opportunities
Able to map processes using basic process mapping tools e.g. Ms. Visio
Able to document Standard Operating Procedures for key business areas highlighting KPIs, process inputs/outputs, key risks and mitigating controls
Able to identify opportunities for process optimisation
Interviewing skills
Professional approach to interviewing
Designs interview programme – identifying contacts, writing questionnaires
Able to hold in-depth conversations – i.e. not just sticking to the script, making interviews focused on the key questions to be resolved
Extracts key messages and implications from interviews
Suitable documentation of interview feedback to a client-ready standard
Strongly contributes to Client Team Meetings having the ability to present sections of findings internally
Supports senior staff at meetings by having grasp of all data and findings – and framing opinions accordingly

Reporting:

Prepares concise, well-written documents using appropriate business and technical language
Uses clear simple slides – using appropriate graphics
Understands the operations consulting environment and roles of various parties within it
Displays effective time management, prioritizes issues appropriately and meets agreed timelines
Appreciates the importance and principles of risk management and supports manager with basic risk management tasks (e.g. client and engagement acceptance procedures, draft engagement letter preparation etc.)

Business and Team Development

Exhibits professional conduct at client meetings and on client location – e.g. appropriate language, dressing, interactions, etiquette
Assists in proposal preparation & research, making an active effort to spend available time on Business Development activities
Builds an internal network of contacts, e.g. business and community, cross-functional, cross-LoS and communicates relationships to appropriate partners or leaders
Understands and can communicate broad range of services provided by PwC and begins to identify needs client may not recognize
Communicates the importance of knowledge of roles and responsibilities and standards to team members
Demonstrates importance of quality by reviewing work products of others and making necessary modifications
Contributes to industry teams – e.g. presentations on past projects, sector research, keeps up to date with sector news, knowledge management etc.
Contributes to wider team – e.g. Induction, buddying, peer group & social activities.

Other:

Utilization of approximately 70 -85% (i.e. 1,390 – 1,480 hours)
Proactively defines and discusses development objectives on- and off-projects
Demonstrates ability to work across various sectors
Asks for upward and downward feedback in a timely manner, takes feedback on-board positively and takes action to address areas for growth and improvement
Provides constructive and honest upward (and where appropriate, downward) feedback in a timely manner
Maintains a focus on project economics – e.g. hours, etc. – and submits timesheets on a timely basis
Understands risk management procedures and implements them in day to day work. Able to create drafts/handle key risk management procedures (e.g. engagement letters).
Assists manager in filing & ordering documentation/work papers (both hard copy and electronic) during projects and takes responsibility/active role in project close-down and archiving process
Keeps up to date with current business events and issues – e.g. economic trends, sector news
Basic understanding of Operations service offerings and how they fit into the wider firm’s offering

Requirements

Education:

First Degree in relevant field
MBA/MSc (with business/accounting/finance/operations orientation) is desirable
ACCA or other accredited accounting qualification is desirable
PMP or other project management certification is desirable
Lean/Six-Sigma/ISO or other business processes/quality-related certification is desirable

Job Experience:

Minimum of 3 years’ experience in Operations consulting in a professional services environment or 1 year relevant experience in a large/global organization
Experience outside market of operation will be an added advantage
Experience in building and maintaining strong relations with senior level clients and key industry contacts

Demonstrated experience in any of the following knowledge areas:

Operations optimisation
Operating model design
Process analysis and design
Supply chain optimisation (covering Procurement, Logistics, Inventory Management etc.)
Cost management
Financial analysis
Project/Programme Management

Demonstrated leadership skills and experience leading projects and diverse teams
Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.

Job Knowledge Requirements:

Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of one of the following industries – Financial Services, Financial Technology, Consumer Markets, Government Agencies, Telecommunications, Energy
Working knowledge and understanding of compliance and risk review procedures, business processes and internal controls

Job-related Skills and Competencies:

Flexibility in your approach to meeting goals as team lead
Ability to communicate clearly with colleagues and senior clients
A proven track record of establishing and maintaining strong relationships
A proactive approach to problem-solving, delivering results and meeting client expectations
Strong technical depth
Project management skills – ability to manage multiple projects
Understand and live the PwC values
Demonstrable creativity and innovation
Presentation, communication and facilitation skills
Adapting and responding to change.